Jenson Button shares theory for Lewis Hamilton’s early advantage over Charles Leclerc at British GP

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Jenson Button has highlighted a possible reason behind Lewis Hamilton’s early dominance over Charles Leclerc at the British Grand Prix.

On Friday, the British Grand Prix at Silverstone kicked off with the only practice session of the weekend. 

Perhaps surprisingly, it was Hamilton who topped FP1, as he finished ahead of Kimi Antonelli and Ferrari teammate Leclerc.

The seven-time world champion produced an impressive lap time of 1:29.260, which was nearly 0.6 seconds quicker than Leclerc’s best effort of 1:29.859.

Meanwhile, George Russell and Oscar Piastri rounded off the top five, with last year’s winner Lando Norris only in seventh place.

Jenson Button says Lewis Hamilton has been ‘perfecting every corner’ at Silverstone

Speaking on Sky Sports F1’s live broadcast, 2009 Formula 1 world champion Button was stunned by the difference between Hamilton and Leclerc.

The 46-year-old was quick to acknowledge that Hamilton has been ‘flying’ around Silverstone and looked in good form in both onboard and offboard footage.

He stated that the seven-time world champion has been ‘perfecting every corner’, which can be tough to do at such a fast track like Silverstone.

However, Button went on to share that he believes the difference in energy deployment could have played a part in the gap between the two Ferrari drivers.

Button said: “The interesting thing for me is the difference between Lewis and Charles, 6 tenths he’s put into him!

“I know it’s still practice; Lewis is flying around here, and every time we go on board and off board with him, he is perfecting every corner and is really good to see.

“I think the deployment might be different; that is maybe why there is that gap between them.

“Last year, the cars were so different, and there was no oversteer; it would just snap.”

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It is well documented that Silverstone is one of Hamilton’s favourite tracks as he often dominates around the 3.66-mile circuit.

The 41-year-old has won at Silverstone nine times, a record that has not been beaten by any driver in F1 history.

Speaking after analysing Hamilton’s FP1 lap, former F1 driver Anthony Davidson touched on why Silverstone suits the 41-year-old so well.

Davidson alluded to the fact that the home crowd can play a part in giving Hamilton an extra boost, while stating that he loves high-speed corners.

He said: “Silverstone definitely suits his style. Lewis is one of those characters who wears his heart on his sleeve, and he genuinely finds time by the energy of the British crowd.

“Not everyone feels that. I think he feels that more than most and that gives him this extra performance here. It’s a circuit that suits his style; he loves high-speed corners, and he has always been great in that area. He shines at this track.”

Meanwhile, Leclerc has struggled in the last few outings at Silverstone, having finished 14th in 2025 and 2024, while only managing P9 in 2023. His best-ever result was P2, which came in 2021.